


eat up

by Anonymous



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff, High School, M/M, Slice of Life, lots of lunch boxes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 12:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17407316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: When a new student starts bringing exquisitely home-made food to school, Kyungsoo gets competitive.





	eat up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dldld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dldld/gifts).



> Hello, dear Sweet!  
> Here's some very short Kaisoo for you!  
> Thank you for pinch-hitting <3
> 
> Love,  
> the mods

 

Zhang Yixing was nice.

A little aloof maybe, a little insecure in his Korean, but he had no problem fitting in after he transferred to their school. It helped that one of their friends was also Chinese and delighted over the new addition to their year, and that Jongin's group of friends was just that nice. None of them seemed to have a problem welcoming a new addition to their group... none, except for Kyungsoo.  


It had been fine at first. Kyungsoo had even gently and patiently explained a text to him in class, and that was clearly a sign of budding friendship if Jongin ever saw it with Kyungsoo.

Things had been fine until a week or so later, when Yixing sat down to eat lunch with them, and placed a simple, but traditional-looking box on the table, revealing the most marvelous lunch box any of them had seen in a long time.

Luhan was swooning, and the others were no less fascinated by the foreign, home made dishes, all but fighting to be allowed to taste something, in exchange for whatever meagre food they had brought on their own. Jongin would be a liar to say he wasn't just as interested, since many of these dishes he had never seen before, and none of them had pecked Yixing as the type who was skilled in the kitchen.

"Who would have thought we'd get a second master chef to hang out with us? We'll never go hungry again," Baekhyun laughed. Kyungsoo didn't laugh as he fished a piece of egg out of his beautiful, homemade lunch box, but he didn't look that disgruntled, either. Not yet.

 

"Oooh, what is that?"

"This? This is non-yolk egg," Yixing explained readily, and he lit up at the question. "It's a traditional food in my home town. You eat them with soup but I ate the soup yesterday, so this is a leftover."

These were pretty much the only times he didn't think too hard about his grammar or sentences and would talk freely. It was a little cute.

"Oh, and Kyungsoo is back to the shrimp pancakes, let me have one," Baekhyun demanded, receiving an unimpressed glare in response.

"Bring your own food, Byun."

"That sounds so nice, can I try it?" Yixing asked, and Kyungsoo was too taken aback to deny him, wordlessly offering him some. Yixing looked thoughtful as he chewed on them.

"The feel is really nice... I feel like they lack seasoning though? Maybe a bit more soy?"

Luhan just laughed and punched his side, saying something in Mandarin that was too fast for them to follow.

"Maybe," Kyungsoo said curtly, gaze dropping to his food.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jongin said in between chewing on his second little pancake. "They're the best."

He was always allowed to help himself when it came to Kyungsoo's lunch boxes, and it wasn't every day that he'd bring shrimp pancakes.

They were even crispier than usual, and Jongin didn't see the problem.

 

_

 

It didn't stop there though. Yixing's lunch boxes seemed to get more and more intricate, and he brought a new, foreign dish almost every day. He also seemed to have made it his mission to give Kyungsoo advice on how to cook. Jongin, who knew Kyungsoo more than anyone else, could see him grow more and more irritated, and could see (and taste) Kyungsoo’s own lunch boxes grow more elaborate. It was like he was silently trying to compete with him, which was entirely lost on friendly, excited Yixing.   
When Kyungsoo brought beautifully made kimbap, Yixing would bring stuffed rice balls with exotic fillings. When Kyungsoo brought fried tofu dumplings, Yixing would show off something none of them could even pronounce. And he _always_ had an advice for Kyungsoo.

"Ah, this is nice! Maybe it would turn out even better if you add an egg wash before frying it?"

Jongin told him his food was delicious either way.

"This is so interesting! I think cucumber would go well with it."

Kyungsoo's smile was so small and forced that not even Baekhyun dared to make fun of him that day.

When one day, Kyungsoo showed up with the most beautiful lunch box Jongin had ever seen, and Yixing asked why he didn't sprinkle sesame on top, he snapped and jumped to his feet.

"Why don't you eat your own food just for once?" he suggested harshly, not even looking any of them in the eye. Yixing looked shocked and a little taken aback. Jongin only grimaced because he had seen this coming from afar.

Even Baekhyun and Jongdae were momentarily stunned, and then Kyungsoo was packing up his lunch and left the classroom.

Jongin got up before any of them had gathered their wits. No one but him would have the guts to follow him, either way. Kyungsoo liked being alone, and god help those who actively invaded his personal space after him withdrawing on purpose.

Jongin was an exception though. He always was.

 

He found Kyungsoo on the campus, sitting far away from everyone, his back leaning against the wall of a little subsidiary building that was mostly used as a storage. He wasn't looking up when Jongin sat down next to him.   
For a while, neither said a word and just stared into the nearby trees, listening to distant voices of people playing soccer somewhere.

"That was embarrassing," Kyungsoo finally said.

Jongin didn't immediately deny that. Instead, he placed his head on Kyungsoo's shoulder. It wasn't something they usually did at school, but no one was in sight, anyway.

"He didn't mean it like that," he said.

"I know..." Kyungsoo replied, and then he slid away from Jongin, breaking the touch. Jongin couldn't help feeling hurt but when his best friend looked up at him, he looked uncharacteristically sad, and he forgot all about it immediately.

"I'm actually not all that great at cooking, and I've never been," he admitted, and before Jongin could cut him off, Kyungsoo slapped his hand over his mouth.

"It's true, I know that," he continued, their eyes met, and the hand was awkwardly lowered. Jongin kept his mouth shut voluntarily now, waiting to see where this was going.

"I'm just alright, I get by. You all just praised me to the heavens and back cause you don't cook at all."

Jongin couldn't even get offended because it was true. He was lucky the rice he cooked was edible.

"But... because everyone praised me so much, I didn't want to disappoint them," Kyungsoo said, eyes flitting up to meet Jongin's, only to break gazes again. It was unusual, seeing Kyungsoo shying away from anything. From him.

"I didn't want to disappoint you."

"Me?" Jongin asked before he could help it, receiving an almost sour look in return. Kyungsoo refused to repeat himself, and kept his gaze lowered while Jongin processed that information. This was different from the usual best-friends-thing they had going on. This was different, and Jongin wasn't sure whether he was allowed to interpret it the way he did.

Ultimately, he leaned over Kyungsoo - who tensed up even more - and reached for the discarded lunch box. Inside, everything was messy from being tossed around, and the chopsticks were back in the classroom still, so Jongin used his fingers to snatch a piece of pickled cucumber.

"I don't care what others say about your food," he said as soon as his mouth was empty. "I love it just the way it is."

Kyungsoo still looked doubtful, if only a little, and Jongin was the type of person who only ever took the lead if no one else did, so he leaned in to press his lips on Kyungsoo's. It barely qualified as a kiss, and it was all quick and hasty, but it was enough to sweep away all the doubts and make room for something akin to shock.

The following three seconds of perfect silence were the longest in Jongin's entire life.

"We're in public," Kyungsoo ultimately said.

_We're in public._

Not 'what are you doing?'

Not 'leave me alone,' nothing related to disgust.

We're in public. As in ' _I'd rather do this somewhere private_.'

Another piece of food was nudging Jongin's lips and he parted them obediently, chewing on a piece of juicy sausage and egg as his mind was still wiped blank.

"Our break will be over soon. You should eat up," Kyungsoo said, and there was a tiny bit of a stammer in his voice. That was different, too.

"You, too," Jongin replied, and things were all different, but nice.

 

The following week, Yixing brought lunch boxes filled with Korean food only, asking Kyungsoo to taste it and give him tips every single day. It was adorable, and by the end of it, Kyungsoo asked him for some of his traditional recipes.

Jongin looked forward to trying them.

  



End file.
